Michael Shepherd

Staff Writer

Latest

Published
March 12, 2014

Schools in Maine’s capital area close ahead of snowstorm

Forecasters have predicted up to a foot of snow and high winds that could knock out power in the Augusta area.
Published
March 11, 2014

Augusta substance abuse facility for teens to close after losing state bid

A southern Maine group will take its place serving central Maine, but its future location is unknown, the state says.
Published
March 11, 2014

Whitefield school to be closed all week after gym fire

Principal Joshua McNaughton said two-thirds of the school must be cleaned after chemicals used to extinguish the fire traveled to other parts of the building.
Published
March 9, 2014

Kennebec, Somerset and Franklin county communities to get $5.9 million boost

While the state is sharing only a fraction of the mandated share of income and sales taxes with cities and towns, the new money may fend off property tax spikes.
Published
March 7, 2014

Hallowell budget proposes nearly 10 percent tax hike

But with little appetite for higher taxes, the city manager says his 2015 proposal is just a good starting point for discussion.
Published
March 6, 2014

Central Maine spring flood risk normal now, but above average long term

A quick thaw could spell trouble for towns along the Kennebec River, officials said at Thursday’s annual River Flow Advisory Commission meeting.
Published
March 3, 2014

Cold stunting Maine’s maple syrup season, producers say

Sap hasn’t thawed for many Augusta-area sugar houses with the industry’s largest promotion, Maine Maple Sunday, less than three weeks away.
Published
March 2, 2014

New Togus VA chaplain was convicted of killing his wife in 1986

James T. Luoma shot and killed his wife and served prison time, but though he’s since found a better path in life, the hospital may not have known of his crime.
Published
February 26, 2014

Hallowell mechanic working in neighborhood forced to leave

Dexter Fawcett has been working since 2012 in a nonprofit agency’s building on Mayflower Road, but city zoning laws never allowed him to be there.
Published
February 24, 2014

Augusta’s Riverview hospital gets positive review, but federal money still out of reach

An advocate says The Joint Commission’s approval of Riverview Psychiatric Center is a positive step, but the state still has problems.